Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dilemmas ahead of Manchester United’s clash with RB Leipzig in the Champions League

The equation seems simple enough: If Manchester United avoid defeat to RB Leipzig on Tuesday night, they will play the Champions League after Christmas.

But, being Manchester United Manchester United, it is not as simple as all that.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces quite a few dilemmas when he sends his team to Red Bull Arena knowing that defeat would spell the unthinkable scenario of falling into the Europa League.

There are not only national team headaches, but also the way United should approach the competition. No one is fooling themselves that Tuesday night will see a repeat of the 5-0 beating United inflicted on Julian Nagelsmann’s team at Old Trafford in October.

At the time, it looked like United would comfortably reach the knockout stages, but it hasn’t worked out that way. Now a stressful evening awaits them with everything at stake.

Here are five of the problems Solskjaer faces as United searches for the necessary point to bring them home.

WHAT TO DO WITH POGBA?

How kind of Mino Raiola to drop that bombshell on Paul Pogba’s future on the eve of United’s biggest game of the season so far.

Just as Pogba should be fully focused on the task at hand, his agent throws a hand grenade at the preparations saying “it’s over for Paul at United.”

Of course, speculation about the midfielder’s future is nothing new, but the timing was cruel and calculated with Raiola showing a complete lack of class against Solskjaer and United.

Now it is necessary to make a big call about Pogba’s state of mind. Will the Frenchman be completely focused on the game or will he be distracted by all the fury?

Having scored an eye-catching goal to spark United’s comeback in West Ham on Saturday, Pogba is likely to start against Leipzig, likely alongside Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic given Fred is suspended after his red card against Paris Saint- Germain last week.

What’s more, it’s the midfield role that Pogba likes to play the most, the one in which he is trusted to pull the strings and create opportunities with the backing of two defensive players behind him.

Donny van de Beek may have been hooked at halftime at London Stadium, replaced by the much more impressive Bruno Fernandes, but that doesn’t mean the Dutchman can’t replace Pogba if Solskjaer feels he’s not in the right frame of mind. to get started.

HOW TO SET UP THE ATTACK

Injuries to forwards Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial have made the starting pick easier for Solskjaer.

Marcus Rashford, who destroyed Leipzig with a hat-trick at Old Trafford, will start up front alongside Mason Greenwood, both driven by goals against West Ham at the weekend.

Bruno Fernandes will sit behind them in his 10th role and will be the main creator as usual. Fernandes was not a starter at West Ham after Solskjaer admitted he had suffered a hit, but still had a transformative impact from the bench.

There’s no way a second game in a row will begin between the substitutes with so much at stake in United’s season.

The formation is likely to be similar to what United put on in the 5-0 win over Leipzig at Old Trafford: a four behind, three in midfield behind Fernandes and two forwards.

It goes without saying that Rashford and Greenwood possess not just the pace, but the ultimate knack to deal Leipzig considerable damage once again, but their serve will be everything.

FROM GEA OR HENDERSON EN GOL?

The debate over whether David de Gea or Dean Henderson should be United’s starting goalkeeper has intensified as the Spaniard has suffered an injury in recent weeks.

Forced to retire at halftime in the win over Southampton after a collision with the post, De Gea was replaced by Henderson, but then returned for last week’s 3-1 loss to PSG.

However, Henderson took the gloves back for the West Ham game and Solskjaer explained that De Gea’s blow had flared again and that he had been left out of the team as a precautionary measure to retrieve it on Tuesday night.

Henderson ended up playing a key role in United’s draw, throwing what appeared to be a punt on the touchline (and possibly offside) directly in the way of Fernandes, who cut for Pogba to score.

It has led some to suggest that Henderson is better on his feet than De Gea and should therefore be ranked number one.

But De Gea, as an established first choice, will surely return for the Leipzig game if he is fully fit.

HOW TO AVOID BEING EMBARKED BY LEIPZIG

Nagelsmann was left looking pretty goofy in his designer suit jacket when his team was crushed at Old Trafford, but rest assured he will have a tactical master plan to get the victory Leipzig needs.

Some clues can be found in the way they won a 3-3 draw against Bayern Munich on Saturday.

They did not allow the Bayern players to hold the ball at any point, pressing hard and hunting them to steal the ball as quickly as possible and then move forward with speed.

Nagelsmann is likely to go for a four-man defense instead of the three center-backs and two full-backs he has used in European games in the past and that’s probably prudent with key defender Dayot Upamecano suspended.

Fernandes will have to think fast as United’s dangerous man because he won’t be given a moment of peace when he’s on the ball, while Matic and McTominay will need to be calm and think two steps ahead.

Solskjaer pitched a curveball with his midfield diamond against Leipzig at Old Trafford, but even if we saw that again, Nagelsmann wouldn’t be fooled twice. He insists that ‘lessons have been learned’ from that humiliation.

HOW TO APPROACH THE GAME

Solskjaer was certainly optimistic in his press conference in which he previewed the game on Monday, saying it was not in United’s DNA to sit down and play for the draw.

‘Anything can happen at any time. You can’t sit back and wait for a 0-0 draw. That is not in our genes, it is not in the genes of the team, it is not in the genes of the club, “he said.

“We want to go out and win the game.”

But he almost knows for sure that United won’t make life easier for them. They continue to lag behind in matches, like in Southampton and West Ham, and can be incredibly poor in the first half.

It would be refreshing to see United start a game on the front foot and try to score a goal in the first 20 minutes. If they can handle that, it will be easier to back off and try to absorb the pressure.

However, Solskjaer is right. There are so many vulnerabilities in his United team, especially at the rear, that sitting down and trying to achieve a goalless draw would be disastrous.

That is not to say that they cannot invite a little pressure from Leipzig and try to hit them on the counterattack, which remains their great strength.

But the German team is an important step against Southampton and West Ham. Falling behind them could easily be fatal to your hopes of extending your stay in the Champions League.